來自太空的無限資源 —— 小行星採礦：英語精讀講義

Ah,

啊，

casually watching a video on YouTube

隨手在YouTube上看個影片，

on a computer more powerful than anything humanity could build

你使用的電腦，比人類在

a few decades ago.

幾十年前能造出的任何機器都要強大。

This progress and all the wonderful machines you take for granted 慣用語

這種進步以及你習以為常的所有奇妙機器，

are built on a few rare and precious materials with names like terbium,

都建立在一些稀有且珍貴的材料之上，它們的名字如鋱（terbium）、

neodymium,

釹（neodymium）、

or tantalum.

或鉭（tantalum）。

Getting these rare materials from the ground

將這些稀有材料從地下開採出來

into your devices is ugly.

並放入你的裝置中，過程非常難看。

The mining industry is responsible for air and water pollution 片語搭配

採礦業不僅會導致空氣和水汙染，

and the destruction of entire landscapes.

還會破壞整個地貌。

Dangerous chemicals like cyanide,

氰化物、

sulfuric acid,

硫酸

or chlorine are used to extract the resources, 文法

或氯氣等危險化學品被用於提取資源，

harming biodiversity, 文法

這會危害生物多樣性，

workers,

工人，

and locals.

以及當地居民。

And rare resources are also political tools

稀有資源同時也是政治工具，

when countries restrict access to them to get their way. 慣用語

當國家為了達到目的而限制他人獲取這些資源時。

But what if we could replace the mining industry on Earth 文法

但是，如果我們能取代地球上的採礦業，

with a clean process that can't harm anyone?

用一種不會傷害任何人的清潔製程取而代之呢？

Well,

其實，

we can.

我們可以做到。

All we need to do is look up. 文法

我們只需抬頭仰望。

Asteroids are millions of trillions of tons of rocks,

小行星是數百萬億噸的岩石、

metals,

金屬

and ice,

和冰，

leftovers from the cloud that became the planets 4.5 billion years ago.

是45億年前形成行星的星雲留下的殘骸。

They can be as small as a meter 文法

它們可以小到只有一公尺，

or protoplanets the size of entire countries.

也可以是大如整個國家的原行星。

Most of them are concentrated in the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt,

它們大多數集中在小行星帶和古柏帶，

while hundreds of thousands more do their own thing between the planets. 慣用語

同時還有成千上萬的小行星在行星之間自行遊走。

As space travel is becoming more feasible, 表達脈絡

隨著太空旅行變得越來越可行，

scientists and economists have begun looking at the resources found in these asteroids.

科學家和經濟學家已開始關注這些小行星上的資源。

Even relatively small metallic asteroids

即使是相對較小的金屬小行星，

may contain trillions worth of industrial and precious metals like platinum.

也可能含有價值數兆的工業和貴金屬，如鉑金。

And bigger asteroids like 16 Psyche

而更大的小行星，如16號靈神星（16 Psyche），

could contain enough iron-nickel to cover the world's metal needs 文法

可能含有足夠的鐵和鎳，足以滿足全球的金屬需求

for millions of years.

達數百萬年之久。

At current market prices, 片語搭配

按目前的市場價格計算，

the rare raw materials alone would be worth quadrillions of dollars.

單是稀有原物料就價值數千兆美元。

Well,

好吧，

not really, 語氣意圖

並非完全如此，

but technically.

但理論上是成立的。

For example,

舉例來說，

there are more than 20 million tons of gold in the oceans' water,

海洋中含有超過2000萬噸的黃金，

worth roughly 750 trillion US dollars.

價值約750兆美元。

But filtering out the gold would be so expensive 講解

但是將其過濾出來的成本太高了，

that you'd lose money selling it.

以至於賣掉它還會虧本。

Right now,

眼下，

asteroid mining has exactly this problem.

小行星採礦面臨的正是這個問題。

It's too expensive to replace mining on Earth. 文法

它的成本太高，無法取代地球上的採礦業。

Billions of dollars worth of valuable resources in space 表達脈絡

太空中價值數十億美元的寶貴資源

are worthless if it costs trillions to get them.

如果需要花費數兆美元去獲取，那也毫無價值。

What makes it so hard?

是什麼讓它如此困難？

The principles behind mining an asteroid are simple.

小行星採礦的原理其實很簡單。

The basic idea is to choose an asteroid,

基本思路是選擇一顆小行星，

move it to a place where it's easy to process

將它移動到易於處理的地方，

and then take it apart to turn into useful products. 片語動詞

然後將其拆解，轉化為有用的產品。

Unfortunately,

不幸的是，

all of this collides with fundamental problems

所有這些都與一些根本性問題相衝突，

humans have yet to solve. 文法

而人類尚未解決這些問題。

Going to space is expensive.

進入太空非常昂貴。

It costs thousands of dollars in rocket fuel for each kilogram

每公斤物品光是火箭燃料成本就高達數千美元，

just to reach a low Earth orbit.

這還僅僅是到達低地球軌道。

Going further out into deep space costs thousands more.

飛向更遠的深空還要花費數千美元以上。

We need cheaper space travel to make asteroid mining profitable.

我們需要更廉價的太空旅行，才能讓小行星採礦有利可圖。

One solution is to switch from classical rockets to electric spaceships. 片語搭配

一個解決方案是從傳統火箭轉向電動太空船。

We already use electrical rocket engines

我們已經在許多執行科學任務的太空探測器上

for many of the space probes on science missions.

使用了電力火箭發動機。

In principle,

原則上，

we only need to build bigger ones.

我們只需要建造更大的發動機。

While electrical engines are not powerful enough to fly to space, 文法

雖然電力發動機的動力不足以飛入太空，

they require only a tiny amount of fuel to go very far once they're in space.

但一旦進入太空，它們只需要極少量的燃料就能飛得很遠。

This means we don't need to spend a lot of money on fuel 片語搭配

這意味著我們不需要在燃料上花費大量資金，

only to transport fuel into space.

僅僅是為了把燃料運上太空。

This doesn't solve the whole cost problem,

這不能解決全部的成本問題，

but it makes it easier to start our first mission. 文法

但它讓我們更容易啟動第一次任務。

Now that we have an electric asteroid mining spaceship, 文法

既然我們有了電動小行星採礦太空船，

we need to find the right asteroid and get it there.

我們需要找到合適的小行星並將它送到那裡。

We've already successfully visited asteroids with space probes

我們已經成功用太空探測器造訪過小行星，

and even collected samples.

甚至採集了樣本。

Still,

儘管如此，

to make it easier and cheaper,

為了讓任務更容易、更便宜，

our first targets will probably be near-Earth asteroids,

我們的首選目標可能將是近地小行星，

asteroids that orbit,

也就是那些在軌道上運行的，

well,

嗯，

near-Earth.

靠近地球的小行星。

After a few months of travel,

經過幾個月的航行，

our spaceship finally arrives at our asteroid.

我們的太空船終於抵達了目標小行星。

Weirdly formed, 文法

它的形狀奇特，

littered with small impact craters,

佈滿了小型的撞擊坑，

it hasn't changed much for billions of years.

在數十億年裡，它幾乎沒有發生什麼變化。

The first thing that needs to be done 文法

需要做的第一件事

is to secure the asteroid and stop it from spinning.

是固定這顆小行星並阻止它旋轉。

There are multiple ways to do this,

有很多方法可以做到這一點，

like vaporizing material with a laser

比如用雷射汽化材料，

or stopping the rotation with thrusters.

或者用推進器停止其旋轉。

Once we have a stable asteroid,

一旦我們有了一個穩定的小行星，

we need to wait.

我們需要等待。

Orbital mechanics are complicated,

軌道力學很複雜，

but if you push something in the right direction at exactly the right moment, 文法

但如果你在絕對正確的時刻朝著正確的方向推一下，

you can move very big things with very little force.

你就可以用很小的力量移動非常大的東西。

So,

所以，

we wait for exactly the right moment.

我們等待絕對正確的時刻。

Our ship fires its thrusters

我們的太空船點燃推進器，

and nudges the asteroid into a trajectory that takes it near our moon. 片語搭配

將小行星推入一條靠近我們月球的軌道。

The moon is useful

月球很有用，

because we can borrow its gravitational pull to put the asteroid in a stable orbit around Earth, 用詞

因為我們可以借用它的引力，把小行星送入一個穩定的環地軌道，

which saves even more fuel.

這樣可以節省更多的燃料。

Again,

同樣的，

the trip takes months.

這趟旅程需要幾個月的時間。

But all the time since our ship was launched 文法

但自從我們的太空船發射以來，所有的這些時間

has not been wasted.

都沒有白費。

The first space mining and processing equipment has been installed in orbit

第一批太空採礦和加工設備已經在軌道上安裝完畢，

and is now carefully moving towards the asteroid.

現在正小心翼翼地向小行星移動。

The processor works very differently than on Earth.

這種處理設備的工作原理與地球上的截然不同。

Giant mirrors focus sunlight

巨大的鏡子聚焦陽光，

and heat up asteroid rock to boil out the gases. 片語動詞

加熱小行星岩石，將其中的氣體蒸發出來。

Grinders break up the dried rocks into gravel and dust, 片語動詞

粉碎機將乾燥的岩石分解成礫石和粉塵，

and centrifuges separate dense from light elements. 片語搭配

離心機則將重元素和輕元素分離開來。

Even if we only extract 0.01% of the asteroid's mass in precious metals, 文法

即使我們只能從小行星質量中萃取出0.01%的貴金屬，

this is still several times more

這也比你從地球上

than you'd get from the same amount of ore on the ground.

同等數量的礦石中得到的要多好幾倍。

But what now? 表達脈絡

但接下來怎麼辦呢？

How do we get our precious metals safely back to ground?

我們該如何安全地把這些貴金屬帶回地面？

There are a few ways,

有幾種方法，

like loading it into reusable rockets that return to Earth from space.

比如將它們裝入從太空返回地球的可重複使用火箭。

Or if our processor contains 3D printers,

或者如果我們的處理設備配有3D印表機，

we can print a faster and cheaper delivery system.

我們可以列印出一種更快、更便宜的運輸系統。

heat-shielded capsules filled with gas bubbles. 文法

充滿氣泡且帶有隔熱罩的太空艙。

These can just be dropped into the oceans, 文法

這些太空艙可以直接丟進海洋中，

where ships tow them away.

然後由船隻把它們拖走。

This could be the starting point of humanity's first real steps 慣用語

這可能成為人類邁出第一步的起點，

towards colonizing the solar system.

走向殖民太陽系的真實征程。

As our infrastructure and experience grows,

隨著我們基礎設施和經驗的增長，

our missions get more and more sophisticated. 文法

我們的任務會變得越來越成熟複雜。

Parts and fuel produced on asteroids

在小行星上生產的零組件和燃料

don't have to be launched from Earth at all. 文法

根本不需要從地球發射。

The first mining operation makes the second one easier, 文法

第一次採礦行動讓第二次變得更容易，

and so on. 片語搭配

以此類推。

While the space industry grows 表達脈絡

當太空產業發展壯大，

and precious materials become cheaper,

貴重材料變得更便宜時，

eventually we could stop mining on Earth.

我們最終可以停止在地球上採礦。

Even the idea of toxic mining down here

甚至在地球上進行有毒採礦的想法

might become something weird and anachronistic, 用詞

都可能會變得奇怪且過時，

like having an open fire in your living room. 表達脈絡

就像在客廳裡生明火一樣。

Landscapes ravaged by pollution will heal, 文法

被汙染破壞的地貌將會癒合，

while the technological wonders we're used to 文法

而我們習以為常的科技奇蹟

get cheaper and less toxic to make.

製造起來會更便宜，毒性也更低。

None of this is science fiction. 表達脈絡

這些都不是科幻小說。

We don't need fancy materials or new physics

我們不需要花俏的材料或新的物理學

to make asteroid mining happen. 片語搭配

就能實現小行星採礦。

We could start building this future today.

我們今天就可以開始構建這個未來。

All we need is an initial push. 表達脈絡

我們需要的，只是一個最初的推動力。